


The Hero We Deserve

by TheSadisticMunchkin



Series: 30 Days of Hamburr Challenge [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: 30 Days of Hamburr, 30 Days of Writing, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Children, Cute Kids, Family, Fluff, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Not enough to scare the little ones, Parent-Child Relationship, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-30 06:51:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6413365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSadisticMunchkin/pseuds/TheSadisticMunchkin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A hero could come in many forms. Some wear spandex.</p><p>Or little Philip Hamilton tries to find Spider-man but he ends up finding Aaron Burr instead. </p><p>Day 3 of the 30 Days of Hamburr Self-Induced Challenge of 2016</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hero We Deserve

**Author's Note:**

> AREN'T CHILDREN SO GREAT???
> 
> There are so many kid fics in this series so stay tuned!!!
> 
> Random dedication of the day goes to mortyormortimer on tumblr!

Philp never liked sitting still.

 

He was much like his father on that aspect. Why sit down and merely watch TV when there was a perfectly functional Kinect video game console right there for him to use? Why listen to music when you can dance to it? What kind of music  _ can’t  _ you dance to? Philip was a whirlwind, a nonstop hurricane that wreaks havoc on every toy, book, crayon and shiny object in sight. Alexander found this extremely amusing and extremely taxing.

 

Now, Philip loved his father to death. As much as he loved creating a tiny catapult out of teaspoons during breakfast time for the biscuits, one look from his dad would tell him to stop. Mommy would have wanted him to listen to Papa. Well, she told him not to listen to him  _ all  _ the time but he could sense when Papa is in dad mode or  _ fun dad mode.  _ Philip liked fun dad mode the best. Fun dad mode meant he could get two popsicle sticks instead of one on weekends.

 

But not all weekends meant fun dad mode.

 

Fun dad mode would be at a stand still until Thanksgiving once October rolled in. October and November were some of daddy’s busiest months and Philip was extra careful to be a good boy. He didn’t like it when daddy got mad. Technically, he never really got mad at him. He would only shout when he was back in his bedroom by himself. Philip sometimes heard him cry afterwards and he would get sad for Papa too.

 

Philip didn’t like it when Papa was sad.

 

The 8-year-old watched as his papa went around the kitchen trying to do many things at once. One second he would be flipping a pancake and then he would be answering a phone call and then he would be trying to pour juice into Philip’s cup. Sometimes he was able to do all three but that resulted in Papa getting his sleeve caught on fire. That then resulted to a muffled curse, papa making him promise not to repeat it, and then him running to his room to change his shirt.

 

Thankfully, Auntie Angelica agreed to bring him to school today so that Papa wouldn’t have a mental breakdown. Auntie Angelica said he worked for the President so he was always busy. Philip wished Papa didn’t have to work so hard at this time of year but Auntie Angelica promised they could get two ice creams today. “You wait for me on the steps outside, okay? We could go to the museum afterwards if you like.” Philip smiled happily and ran inside the school just as Auntie Angelica kissed him on the forehead.

 

Maybe once he got home, he could watch TV with Papa.

* * *

 

He didn’t watch TV with Papa.

 

Auntie Angelica told him he was going to be home late. “Is that why you had a toothbrush on your big handbag?”

 

“How did you know I had a toothbrush?”

 

“I saw it when you got the money for ice cream.”

 

Auntie Angelica smiled at him and ruffled his hair. “You’re just like your father sometimes.” She kneeled in front of him so that she was eye-level with her brother-in-law’s son. He really did resemble a younger Alexander. He just happened to have his mother’s smile. Everybody told him that when he smiled, they saw his mother. Papa told him that too the first night he saw him cry. That was also the last time he saw him cry. Papa cried behind closed doors now.

 

It didn’t mean that Philip never heard him.

 

“Now why don’t you go to your room and get ready for bed? We can brush our teeth together.” Philip nodded and obediently went to his room to change into his Spider-man pajamas. He waited inside the bathroom for a solid 5 minutes before he got worried. Wasn’t Auntie Angelica supposed to brush her teeth too? Why was she taking so long? Before he could go down to investigate, he heard another voice converse with Auntie Angelica and he kept himself rooted to the spot on his bathroom stool.

 

“I didn’t think Theo would be into superheroes but that’s what I get for getting her into comic-books.” Said the other, deeper, voice as Angelica laughed. Philip decided to at least take a sneak peek as to what was happening downstairs. He slid himself off of his stool and tip-toed until he sat on the stairs. He was at a junction where he couldn’t be seen but he could see and hear everything that was currently happening. “Do you think this will stain?”

 

“Well it’s ketchup on a red suit, I think people will assume its blood.”

 

“That’s worse!” Auntie Angelica moved into his line of vision and he muttered a little in annoyance because he couldn’t see who she was talking to.

 

“Do you think Theo would care?” She asked in exasperation and the man sighed. Philip moved a few more steps down so he could see better and what he saw made him cover his mouth in surprise. There, sitting on his couch with a mug of coffee in one hand and a cookie in the other was  _ Spider-man.  _ He knew this one was real because he kept his mask on and his entire suit looked  _ exactly  _ like the ones in his comic-book. It was an understatement to say he was starstruck.

 

“Well, I should be heading back home. Thanks for the cookie, Angelica.”

 

“Give Theo my love, okay? I  _ promise _ to babysit next week. This week is for mini-Ham. You, single dads, are  _ nothing  _ without me, honestly.”

 

Spider-man chuckled, gave her a salute and walked out the opened door. Philip quietly ran back to the bathroom before Auntie Angelica could figure out he was even there. When she entered the bathroom, she took one look at his choice of pajamas and smiled. “Well Philip, you just missed your favorite superhero. He really likes chocolate chip cookies.” What Auntie Angelica doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?

 

Philip made a mental note to buy more cookies.

* * *

 

“And then  _ Spider-man  _ was there! Auntie Angelica doesn’t know that I saw him but I  _ did!”  _

 

Philip’s hands were flying everywhere and he didn’t even notice that some of his pancakes were spilling out of his mouth. Alexander wiped Philip’s mouth of any trace of the breakfast treat with a chuckle. “So Spider-man was in our apartment?” If Philip listened closely, he would have thought his Papa was teasing him but he really  _ did  _ see Spider-man. He saw him with his own two eyes. Nothing could fake that.

 

“Yeah! I’m going to find him, daddy! Just you wait.”

 

“That’s nice, sunshine. Put on your shoes first before you find Spider-man, okay? We can’t go to the park barefoot.” Philip shoved the rest of his pancakes in his mouth, swallowed them down with chocolate milk, and went to go find his shoes. He was bouncing by the front door in no time. “Calm down, sunshine. We have to go run a few errands before the park, okay? You alright with accompanying Papa to some stores?”

 

Philip nodded happily. He knew that the more perimeter they covered, the better chances they’ll find Spider-man. Well,  _ he  _ was going to find Spider-man. Daddy was going to find something else and he was too excited to care. Soon enough, Papa’s errands were done and they were walking hand-in-hand towards the park. Philip was already talking a mile a minute so he was barely considerate of what was happening around him. When they reached the crosswalk, Papa lifted him up, adjusted him on his hip, and started walking across the street.

 

They didn’t notice the car that was heading straight towards them.

 

_ “WAIT!” _

 

A hand grabbed at Papa’s hoodie and pulled him back towards the sidewalk before the car was able to hit him. Thankfully, the car barely grazed him. If it weren’t for the man that saved him, Philip would be an orphan too. “Some of these drivers are assholes sometimes, man.” Said their savior and Papa turned around to acknowledge him. The man was taller than Papa but he was slightly hunched over as he tried to catch his breath. 

 

“Thank you so much, sir! I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

 

“No, it was that driver’s fault. The stoplight was _clearly_ red.” Philip didn’t catch the rest of the conversation after that. He was simply staring at the man who saved daddy. He only watched as Papa shook his hand awkwardly as another few  _ thank you’s  _ escaped his lips. “Talk less, my friend. It really is no problem.” Papa threw in a couple more thank you’s before he was able to release the man’s hand from his grip. 

 

“Philip? What do we say?”

 

Philip only recovered from his reverie in the split second when Papa said his name. He looked at Papa, at the man, then back at Papa again, then back at the man again before splitting into a wide grin. He was sure Papa wanted him to say thank you or something else nice but there was only one thing that went through Philip’s mind. Forget Spider-man. Forget people in capes. Forget magical hammers, radioactive spiders and super strength. 

 

It was this man. This man topped everyone else he read with superpowers and super suits.This man was a real  _ hero.  _

 

“You’re my hero.”

* * *

It probably wasn’t a good idea to sneak into his hero’s apartment.

 

Where was the fun in only knocking on the door? Philip was delighted to find out that his hero lived in the same apartment complex so he wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. He originally had Papa buy the chocolate chip cookies for Spider-man but he figured Spidey would understand. He could find him some other time. For now, Philip had to make sure that no one was home before he opened the window latch and climbed inside.

 

Philip looked up and was relieved that no one saw him. Now, where was he going to place the chocolate chip cookies? He didn’t even have a note with him. He couldn’t just leave it there without physically seeing his hero first. He gripped the paper bag tight in his little hand and walked around the living room. It was nice. It was much cleaner than his apartment only because Papa refuses to clean it until Thanksgiving. 

 

He didn’t notice the small pile of comic books on the floor as he almost tripped on them. He looked down and was delighted to find that they were Spider-man comic books. Before he was able to pick one of them up, the front door opened. He quickly looked around for a place, any place, to hide and he spotted an open closet door. He immediately dove into it and he tried not to cry out in pain as he hit a small box. 

 

“Did you hear that, Theo?”

 

“Hear what, daddy?”

 

“I don’t know. I thought I heard something.”

 

Philip cradled his hand close to his chest as he waited for the two to get out of the room so he could make an escape. The throbbing pain in his hand, the cookies spilled out from their bag, and the fact that he was hiding in a closet sort of told him that this was the worst idea ever. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see daddy and tell him he was sorry for sneaking out. But he just wished to tell his hero that he was grateful. 

 

“I think I heard something in the closet, daddy.” 

 

“You think so? Maybe it’s a rat. Why don’t you check the closet?”

 

“Eww!  _ You _ check the closet!”

 

“Fine, we’ll  _ both  _ check the closet.”

 

A full 10 seconds of silence passed before the child responded.

 

“No, you check the closet.”

“Neither of you will check the closet.”

 

Philip emerged from behind the door and his hero raised an eyebrow at him. He smiled sheepishly. Daddy is going to kill him. “Hello.” He saw that the man’s daughter ran behind the couch when he left the closet and she was currently peeking at him, the top of her head visible from behind the couch. “I’m sorry I didn’t really mean to scare you. I just wanted to say thank you.” Philip went back inside the closet and pulled out the discarded bag that was supposed to be filled with cookies.

 

“Hey wait… You're Alexander’s kid, right? Alexander Hamilton?”

 

The mention of his father’s name brought a bright smile to Philip’s face.

 

“Yup! You saved us a few weeks ago!” The man furrowed his eyebrows for a bit before he came to the same conclusion.

 

“Oh well, you’re welcome! But I don’t see how breaking into my apartment means you want to thank you.” Philip ducked his head and stared at his shoes. Somewhere in his line of vision, the man knelt in front of him. “Hey, does your hand hurt?” Philip still refused to look at him and his eyes were already brimming with tears. He completely forgot about his hand until he mentioned it. The pain came back in full force and he couldn’t control his tears anymore.

 

“I’m sorry.”

* * *

 

“Alexander?”

 

_ “Aaron Burr, sir! How may I be of assistance?” _

 

Aaron looked down at the kids playing with their action figures on the floor before speaking into the phone again. “So have you noticed that your kid is missing?” A split-second of silence followed his statement before a muffled curse and hurried footsteps were heard on the other line. Aaron couldn’t help the fond smile that graced his lips as he waited for Alexander to come back to the phone. After patiently waiting for 10 minutes, he heard Alexander breathe heavily onto the receiver and Aaron decided to end his torture.

 

“Relax, buddy. Philip is safe and sound in my house.”

 

_ “Did you fucking kidnap my son, Burr?” _

 

“Actually, he broke into my apartment this morning. Kid sprained his wrist in the process of hiding from me.”

 

_ “Oh god… Is he okay now? I feel like such a shitty father. I-I didn’t even notice he was gone until you called and-” _

 

“Alex, breathe.”

 

_ “Shit… I’m sorry. I just thought I lost him. Can you bring him back? Or do you want me to come over and pick him up?” _

 

Aaron glanced again at Philip and he gave the 8-year-old a fond smile before he ruffled his hair. “I mean if you want me to come up there right now, it’s fine. I’d rather not let you see me in… my current attire.” He resisted the urge to scratch at a  _ certain _ area that was  _ definitely _ not itchy a few minutes ago. 

 

_ “Aaron, I’m sure you’re not wearing any kinky shit. It’s not like you’re wearing spandex right?” _

 

“Um actually…”

 

_ “I’m coming down, sweetheart. I’ll bring some of those cookies you like.” _

 

“Alex, please don’t come down I-- He hung up, oh my god.”

 

Aaron threw the phone to the other side of the couch and pulled his mask all the way off his head. He stared at the Spider-man mask now in his hands and he stopped himself from throwing it out the window as well. When Philip found the Spider-man costume while he and Theo were finding toys, he didn’t want to  _ leave _ anymore. He thought Philip was going the minute he finished wrapping up his sprained hand but no. He  _ had  _ to find the Spider-man costume he used for Theo’s birthday party. He just  _ had  _ to.

 

But how could he have said no to two adorable 8-year-olds? What kind of  _ father _ would he be?

 

Before he could sneak out of the living room to change into normal clothes, he heard a knock at the door and he softly cursed. No. Alex was too early. He hadn’t changed yet. “Philip, could you get that? That should be your dad.” Philip immediately bounded over to the door and threw it open. He jumped straight into his father’s arms and the sight of it made Aaron forget he was still wearing red and blue spandex.

 

_ Oh god, he was wearing red and blue spandex. _

 

“Aaron? Is that you?” 

 

_ Somebody kill me instead. _

 

“I told you I’d find Spider-man, Papa! It was Mr. Burr all along!” He didn’t have the heart to be mad at Philip because he looked so  _ damn  _ happy. Alexander let Philip run back to play with Theo before he slowly approached Aaron. Either Aaron could melt into a puddle of goo right there or try to explain why he was in costume. Either option didn’t seem to be plausible in his head. Why did he have to get here when he was still chafing in this costume?

 

“Philip seems convinced that you’re the ultimate superhero now. Although, I’ve never met a superhero who also did babysitting on the side.” Alexander gave him a warm smile and Aaron smiled back.

 

“Well, now you have.” Aaron scratched the back of his head nervously as Alexander chuckled. “He didn’t want to leave when he found the costume. I had to make up some excuse as to why I couldn’t make any webs for him.” 

 

“Don’t worry, he’ll grow out of it. I think he’ll still think of you as his hero, though.”

 

“You think so?”

 

Alexander nodded as a blush crept up his cheeks. “I know so.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

Alexander stepped closer to him until their chests were almost touching and Aaron gulped. “Because you’re my hero too.” Before Aaron could respond, Alexander leaned in close and whispered in his ear. The warm air made Aaron shiver despite himself. “You look  _ amazing  _ in those tights, by the way. Gwen Stacey might have some second thoughts on which Spider-man she likes better.” Was Alexander purposely trying to make him look even more ridiculous in this costume? He was pretty sure that Spider-man had more control than this.

 

Then Alexander pulled away with a shit-eating smirk on his face. Aaron really should have changed but the way Alexander was looking at him suddenly made him think twice. Alexander gave him a single wink before he went to go play with the kids. Aaron stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes before Theo grabbed him by the hand and dragged him over to them. Aaron sat next to Alexander and the shorter man bumped shoulders with him and grinned.

  
_“My hero.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and feedback are appreciated! 
> 
> Dedication of the day once again goes to mortyormortimer on tumblr :)


End file.
